Key Information
Safeguarding Guidance
There is a strong safeguarding team working in Murray Park Community School.
The person with overall responsibility for safeguarding is Miss Rebecca Somes (Deputy Headteacher). If you have any concerns in relation to safeguarding, please contact a member of the safeguarding team immediately.
Rebecca Somes – Designated Safeguarding Lead
Theresa Lucas – Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead
George Hagen – Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead
Kam Balaghan – Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead
Murray Park Community School operates a dedicated email address in case of Safeguarding concerns:
safeguarding@murraypark.derby.sch.uk
You can leave a message on our safeguarding email at any time, however if you feel a child is in immediate danger call the police on 999 or Derby First Contact Team on 01332 641172
At Murray Park Community School we are fully committed to safeguarding our students and staff. Safeguarding children lies at the heart of all that we do in school. Safeguarding refers to the work we do with our children to keep them safe when they are in school and when they are in the wider community. It encompasses the support we give to enable every young person to achieve their full potential. Safeguarding also includes our work on child protection, ensuring that we act appropriately if we have concerns that a child may be suffering significant harm or is at risk of suffering such harm. We take notice of and adhere to all the national and local policies and guidance in regard to Safeguarding Children and Young People.
Safeguarding is summarised as:
- protecting children from harm
- preventing damage to children’s mental and physical health or development
- making sure that children grow up safely, and
- taking action to make sure all children have the best start in life.
THE SIGNS OF ABUSE
There are four categories of abuse:
- Physical abuse
- Sexual abuse
- Emotional abuse
- Neglect
Abuse is often well hidden and will not always be easy to identify. It is important that we are alert to the possibility of abuse and report concerns we may have. Symptoms of abuse are discussed in training for all staff in school to help us to recognise situations where it may be occurring. Please see our Safeguarding Policy, on our website for specific signs of abuse.
All our staff are trained to identify signs of abuse and staff have a duty to report concerns about a child. In the first instance they would report to the school safeguarding team who may then take the decision to report the case to social care.
Everyone who comes into contact with children and their families has a responsibility to safeguard children.
At Murray Park Community School we take our responsibility very seriously and ensure we maintain an ‘it could happen here’ attitude where safeguarding is concerned.
If no-one from the safeguarding team are available to discuss your concerns you should speak to any other member of the Senior Leadership Team.
The school Governor with responsibility for safeguarding is James Upton – concerns about staff can be relayed to the Chair of Directors, Paul Davies on complaints@murraypark.derby.sch.uk
Safeguarding children is everyone’s responsibility.
Please follow the links to policy documents below
Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy
Information and advice
Keeping Children Safe in Education
What to do if you are worried about a child being abused
Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment between children in schools
Working together to safeguard children
Derby and Derbyshire Safeguarding Children Partnership
Advice for parents – Ask the Awkward
Key topics
Knife Crime – How to talk to your children about knife crime
FGM – Female Genital Mutilation
NSPCC Protecting children from radicalisation
Domestic Violence and SDAT:
The new definition of domestic violence and abuse now states:
Any incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive or threatening behaviour, violence or abuse between those aged 16 or over who are or have been intimate partners or family members regardless of gender or sexuality. This can encompass but is not limited to the following types of abuse:
psychological
physical
sexual
financial
emotional
Controlling behaviour is: a range of acts designed to make a person subordinate and/or dependent by isolating them from sources of support, exploiting their resources and capacities for personal gain, depriving them of the means needed for independence, resistance and escape and regulating their everyday behaviour.
Coercive behaviour is: an act or a pattern of acts of assault, threats, humiliation and intimidation or other abuse that is used to harm, punish, or frighten their victim.” *
This definition, which is not a legal definition, includes so called ‘honour’ based violence, female genital mutilation (FGM) and forced marriage, and is clear that victims are not confined to one gender or ethnic group.
What are Domestic Abuse (SDAT) Notifications?
Domestic abuse notifications are sent from Derbyshire constabulary to schools in Derby
and Derbyshire. They are an early notification system to schools to quickly notify them of
any incidents of domestic abuse where the Police have attended a household where
statutory school aged children live.
The notifications are designed to:
• Provide a link between a statutory school aged child or young person’s lived
home experience and their experience in school when domestic abuse is a
current issue
• Help ensure that schools can effectively support and respond to children and
young people’s needs in the education setting
• Promote effective communications between Police, Children’s Social Care and
Schools where there has been a domestic abuse incident
E-Safety
Through IT, PSHE and other curriculum opportunities, pupils are helped to talk about their feelings, know about their rights and responsibilities, understand and respond to risks, to deal assertively with pressures and know who they can turn to for advice and help both in and out of the school and how to make a compliant.
The following areas are addressed within IT, PHSE and in the wider curriculum:
- Bullying, including cyber-bullying
- Online/e safety
- Child exploitation – CSE (Child sexual exploitation) & CCE (Child criminal exploitation), online and offline
For information on how to keep safe using the internet, please visit any of the following approved websites:
http://safe.met.police.uk/internet_safety/get_the_facts.html
http://www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/keeping-children-safe/online-safety/
Child Safety Online: A practical guide for parents and carers whose children are using social media
Tik Tok App Safety – What parents need to know
To report any online abuse please use CEOP
https://www.ceop.police.uk/safety-centre/
Mental Health and Wellbeing
We all have mental health, just like we all have physical health. It’s about how we think, feel and act. Sometimes we feel well, and sometimes we don’t. When our mental health is good, we feel motivated and able to take on challenges and new experiences. But when our mental health is not so good, we can find it much harder to cope.
There are online resources available to help you and your child with mental health, including:
- NHS Mental health for children, teenagers and young adults
- Young Minds – provide young people with tools to look after their mental health. The website is full of advice and information on what to do if you’re struggling with how you feel. They empower parents and adults who work with young people, to be the best support they can be to the young people in their lives. They give young people the space and confidence to get their voices heard and change the world we live in. Together, we can create a world where no young person feels alone with their mental health.
- Kooth – online mental wellbeing community – Free, safe and anonymous support
- MindEd (https://www.minded.org.uk/), a free educational resource from Health Education England on children and young people’s mental health
- Every Mind Matters (https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/), which includes an online tool and email journey to support everyone to feel more confident in taking action to look after their mental health and wellbeing
- Bereavement UK (https://www.childbereavementuk.org/) and the Childhood Bereavement Network (http://www.childhoodbereavementnetwork.org.uk/covid-19.aspx), provide information and resources to support bereaved pupils, schools and staff
It is also vital to report any safeguarding concerns you have about any child. Contact the NSPCC helpline on 0808 800 5000 or Barnardo’s support service (https://www.barnardos.org.uk/see-hear-respond)
The most recent Department for Education guidance is also available here:
